Cost: $25/person (includes beverages, light refreshments, and a copy of Seeds of Diversity Canada's How to Save Your Own Seedswith every ticket! Bring your own lunch.)

Are you looking for ways to diversify your farm business? Just want to save and share good seed?

Then join us for this informative, full-day workshop led by expert seed saving trainers and commercial producers from around the region! Whether you're an established fruit and vegetable producer who's looking to defray your annual seed costs, or a farmer looking for ways to expand your business model, this workshop is meant for you!

Program Leaders and Topics will Include:

The Brittains are expert seed saving instructors, and long-time commercial producers who have been growing certified organic heirloom seed for the last 17 years. They will outline the basics of seed production, and all the considerations that need to be made before starting a commercial enterprise.

Susan is our resident pollination biologist, as well as an experienced beekeeper. She'll outline the basics of plant anatomy, the fundamentals of pollination systems, and will explain how to increase the numbers of pollinators on your farm in order to benefit your seed production enterprise.

Jill is the manager of the Peterborough Community Garden Network and an experienced seed saving trainer. She also runs a successful seed business that supplies a large pecentage of the heirloom tomato seed grown by backyard and market gardeners throughout Peterborough County every year. She'll be on hand to talk about urban seed production, as well as the importance of seed exchanges and community seed banks.

Developing a Seed Saving Action Plan

Explore the implications of your particular growing conditions, types of crops, and equipment needs with knowledgeable professionals in order to develop a personalized action plan for scaling up your seed production.

More locally-grown food on students' breakfast plates this year

Farms at Work is one of the partners in an exciting new project aimed at getting more local food into schools in Peterborough County!

Food will be sourced using our about-to-be-launched online system called "Find Local Food" (more details soon!). FAW will also be bringing farmers into schools to talk to students about where their food comes from.

Applications Now Available for 2014 Beekeeping Mentorship Program

Designed for novice beekeepers who are looking to scale up their commercial honey enterprises, the Farms at Work Beekeeping Mentorship Program provides mentees with the type of hands-on training they need in order to expand their production with confidence.

Following the progression of the beekeeping season (between late-March and October), six qualified mentees will gather at the home apiary of our beekeeper-mentor,Jerry Jerrard, for five full field days to learn time-honoured approaches to colony management and honey/beeswax production. Ample time will be spent both in the honey house and in the bee yard, to allow for a variety of learning environments.

While many of the requirements are flexible, the Beekeeping Mentorship Program is intended for novice beekeepers who have been keeping bees for a couple of years or more, and who own at least one hive of their own bees. This is to ensure that all participants have at least a basic understanding of the concepts of beekeeping, and that all participants have access to the necessary basic equipment which they will need access to throughout the duration of their mentorship.

If you don't quite meet the requirements for this year's program, but are interested in beekeeping as a commercial enterprise, we'd highly recommend that you enroll in one of the regional offerings of the Ontario Beekeepers' Association Introduction to Beekeeping, and Integrated Pest Management courses. 2014 dates have not been released yet, but will be announced shortly.

Are you a farmer or farmland owner?

Then join us for this informative, full-day workshop that will showcase the great stewardship work happening in east central Ontario, and teach you about the various sources of funding and technical assistance available for on-farm stewardship projects across the region.